Goly's Art and Travel journal

gocaspian@gmail.com (goly) — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 09:48:00 -0800

February 2026 North Central Valley birding trip.

It’s quiet here, outside of my window I see a sliver lining peeking above the hilltops while the sky is dark and covered with a thick layer of dark clouds.

Witnessing the colorful changes from dark to light in a short span of time allows me to contemplate the ephemeral nature of life.

I like to think of this fleeting beauty as a harbinger of hope and a promise that light will finally overcome this darkness that has gripped our nation and the world.

I’m eager to see more birds arriving to our skies and I feel called to get my hands into the warming earth and plant edibles that will grow into a nourishing garden.

We spent several days in NorthCentral Valley and saw thousands of geese and cranes. Listening to the cranes primeval orchestra was a magical and soothing experience. The cranes painted undulating ribbons against the colorful sunset sky.

We stayed until dark, watching the cranes descend into the safety of the flooded fields, as the sky transformed from saffron to crimson, and finally melted into the deep sapphire canopy—awaiting another dawn

We could only hear the soft rattling calls in the distance and barely see the silhouette before we left the fields. journal entry February 5, 2026

Invitation to Join our Calligraphers' Guild

gocaspian@gmail.com (goly) — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 09:51:00 -0700

It is Autumn, the good news is that the smoke has gone away and we are breathing fresh air again. the other good news is that we are getting some rain and the thirsty earth is enjoying a good soak. The not so good news is we are still dealing with pandemic and The Delta, and that mostly it is the unvaccinated people are getting very sick and filling the hospitals.

Our Calligraphy Guild is still meeting on Zoom and in-person meetings won't be happening in the near future. I have been making greeting cards to share with a retirement home in our community and some of our calligraphers will be contributing to this effort.

We would like to expand our membership and I have designed a poster to put around town. We are inviting community members to try out a free meeting and and get inspired to incorporate calligraphy and letter arts into their creative lives. Here is our poster I designed, please feel free to download and share with your friends.

Check out our website. If you have calligraphic needs, we have skilled artists and calligraphers for hire . Stay tuned for newsletters, articles and events.

gocaspian@gmail.com (goly) — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 15:04:00 -0700

August 2021in Ashland: It is smoky and Pandemic is surging ahead in full force.

I am sad that we are still living with heavy smoke from wildfires in our area, and Covid virus, Delta Variance is continues to surge with no end in sight . As of today August 24, 2021, there are no ICU beds available in any of the Jackson and Josephine county hospitals.

We did have a highlight In July. Our Calligrapher's Guild Art Exhibit was a fun and successful event.

Please check out our web site Rogue Pens and if you need services of a calligrapher you can find Calligraphers for Hire in Jackson county Oregon. We had a successful exhibit at Art Presence Art Center in Jacksonville Oregon, over 200 people came to the opening reception and we sold several pieces. I am glad I purchased Steve Ostrander's piece and it is now happily hanging just in the right place near our T.V. I thought it was well done and humerus. It says: "I didn't mean to push your buttons, I was just looking for the mute."

Here are some of my art pieces I displayed at the exhibit.

Goly and Cynthia

Many thanks to Cynthia Griffin who organized the show, and to Art Presence,

and director Anne Brooks for hosting our Guild.

Thanks, Goly Ostovar

Paul and Goly travel in Chile

gocaspian@gmail.com (goly) — Sun, 6 Jan 2008 21:09:00 -0800

Paul and Goly Skiing in Chile.

We started with a few days of playing in San Francisco, then we flew to Chile.
We skied in 4 resort. Three of them were north of Santiago. the first few days we got Lodge bound by a heavy storm and then we got to ski fresh powder at La Parava, Valley Colorado, and valley Nevado Resorts.

Then flew to Termas the Chillan. We skied on the volcano, and soaked in the hot volcanic thermal pools.

This ski trip was a very lucky one with some great cold dreamy Powder.

Paul and goly and friends in Utah

gocaspian@gmail.com (goly) — Sun, 6 Jan 2008 14:37:00 -0800

Paul and goly went to Utah in 2005 with Nick and Sooney and Michael and Bella.
skiing was fabulous and we were also able to catch some films at the Sun Dance Film Festival.
we skied all the resorts in the Salt Lake area.

Paul and Goly ski in Argentina

gocaspian@gmail.com (goly) — Wed, 2 Jan 2008 16:55:00 -0800

We went to Argentina this summer 2007 and spent some time Skiing in patagonia.
we got a chance to see the world tango competition in Buenos Aires and then we went north to see the Iguazu Falls and do some birding in the Yaboti jungle and do some rafting to see the Moccona Falls.

Goly and Paul Ski in New Zealand

gocaspian@gmail.com (goly) — Wed, 2 Jan 2008 15:30:00 -0800

The second summer after Paul retired in 2006
We went to New Zealand to ski and did some traveling on both Islands.

Paul and Goly Skiing in Italy

gocaspian@gmail.com (goly) — Tue, 1 Jan 2008 20:44:00 -0800

We skied in Itlay with Bella and Michael. Here are some pictures
paul skied in
Alagna and Chamonix and paul roped down and skied through the tula glacier.

All of skied in la trinite, skied monte rosa, champoluc, and Courmayeur. we also skied from Itlay to France through valley blance in mont blanc.